Biodiversity

A person pulling bark aside from a tree.

Linking Indigenous ecological knowledge and Western science

Language is powerful. It is one way that we, as humans, share knowledge, stories and what matters to us. In partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People, the Atlas of Living Australia (ALA) has been linking language and ancestral, Indigenous ecological knowledge to Western science in its biodiversity data infrastructure.

Overhead view of a research vessel at sea.

Advancing Australia’s capability to harvest oceans of data

Australia’s oceans are big, beautiful and bountiful in resources. Our national ocean research vessel Investigator delivers the capability to help us understand and protect them.

Deep sea delights: this coral species, Victorgorgia eminens, and its snake star symbiont, was discovered living in the seamounts off the coast of Tasmania

Coral finds in the unknown: welcome to the ocean benthic zone

CSIRO scientists are finding life in Australia’s cold-water ocean depths that few humans ever see.

Giant kelp photographed underwater.

Caring for algae, big and small

Both giant kelp and Synechococcus are being cultured in CSIRO’s Australian National Algae Culture Collection in Hobart, where scientists study impacts on algae in our warming world.

Pictured are dive staff from a Townsville tourism operator sitting on the front of a boat. They are pictured visiting John Brewer Reef. Image by Matt Curnock, CSIRO.

Sun shines on the Great Barrier Reef over summer

Get a glimpse into how the Great Barrier Reef has fared over the summer and the actions being taken to protect it.

Close-up shot of a Loggerhead turtle with barnacles on its shell swimming over coral reefs.

A complete DNA barcode library to manage Australia’s environment

eDNA is poised to revolutionise the way we monitor Australia’s natural environment but it relies on a complete reference library of DNA barcodes. That's where we step in. CSIRO is working with partners to create this library for Australia’s most important species.

Lush green forest and mountains surrounding a lake at Cradle Mountain, Tasmania

Saving the world’s ecosystems one A at a time

Scientists examine 19 ecosystems under pressure, from the beautiful to the rare.

Graphic of an offshore ocean environment including aquaculture, and wind farms

Australia’s blue economy set to boost coronavirus recovery

As the pandemic impacts industries across the world, managing ocean resources sustainably is more important than ever to spur new marine and economic opportunities.

Sequencing the genomes of Australian plants

As part of the Genomics for Australian Plants consortium, we are sequencing the genomes of the Queen of Sheba orchid and Hoary Sunray daisy.